Skill and the English Working Class, 1870–1914

Charles More

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English

Routledge
01 December 2025

Series: Routledge Revivals

First published in 1980, Skill and the English Working Class, 1870–1914 investigates the nature of work and the significance of skill in industrial manual labour during late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain. The book places particular emphasis on apprenticeship while also examining industries like steelmaking, which required skill but did not employ apprentices. Additionally, it investigates the role of technical education in shaping the workforce during this period.

Traditionally, labour history has focused on the organization of work and offered only a limited perspective on the division between skilled and unskilled labour. By concentrating on skill and its acquisition, this volume broadens the understanding of labour relations in the late nineteenth century and contextualizes the dynamics between craft unions and non-craft unions.

The book critically challenges the notion that industrial capitalism inevitably leads to the ‘deskilling’ of the labour force. It argues that while some occupations during this era required less skill, others demanded increasingly specialized expertise. The final chapter explores the implications of these findings for the concept of the ‘labour aristocracy’, suggesting that shifts in the status of skilled workers within the working class were partly driven by changes in skill acquisition methods. Drawing on previously unused archival and autobiographical material, this work serves as a valuable resource for students and researchers in economic history and sociology.

By: Charles More
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781041192633
ISBN 10: 1041192630
Series: Routledge Revivals
Pages: 254
Publication Date: 01 December 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Part 1 Skill: Theory and Facts 1. The Concept of Skill 2. Skill in the Engineering Industry Part 2: The Acquisition of Skill 3. Apprenticeship: An Historical Introduction 4. Sources and Methodology 5. The Method of Regular Service Appendix 1: Apprentice Numbers Appendix 2: Premium Apprenticeship 6. Migration and Following-up Appendix: Migration and Following-up in a Scottish Papermill Part 3: Some Implications 7. Skill in Theory and Practice 8. Skill and Industrial Structure Part 4: Changes in Skill 9. Changes in Skill Requirements 1870–1914 Appendix: Early Engineering Workers 10. The Response to Change: Technical Education 11. The Acquisition of Skill and Theories of the Labour Aristocracy

Charles More’s first book, Skill and the English Working Class, was published in 1980 and has been reissued by Routledge Revivals. Subsequently he has written on a range of topics in social and economic history, for instance Understanding the Industrial Revolution and more recently on military history From Arromanches to the Elbe: Marcus Cunliffe and the 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps 1944-1945.